Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports confirmed Thursday that Zaki Anwari, a member of the country’s national youth soccer team, was among the people who died after falling from a U.S. military aircraft as it attempted to take off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday, one day after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s capital city.
Anwari was “among hundreds of young people who wanted to leave the country, fell down and died in an accident from a US military plane,” the translated statement reads. “The sports community of Afghanistan considers this tragic incident as a paradise for Zaki Anwari and prays to God for his family, friends and fellow athletes.